A Thief Among Roses
by Ksenia-Rose
Summary: Naruto and Hinata meet at a gala in this medieval alternate universe of Naruto, and a spark ignites. Hinata was no idea what dark world she has stepped into when she falls for Naruto. A world of blood and death, thieves and heroes, betrayal and mistrust.
1. Fated Meeting?

The ballroom was stunning. Beautiful women with long dresses and handsome men with tuxes, danced gracefully around the room. The room itself had a high ceiling, decorated with beautiful mosaics and a glimmering chandelier. The floor was a white marble tile while white marble posts, similar to the floor, held up the roof. There was a stage for the band in the north-west corner of the room and a long table of refreshments lined the east wall. On the northern wall was three thrones; one for the king, one for his queen, and another for his heir. In this case, the princess. The main doors t the exquisite ballroom was on the southern wall, parallel to the thrones.

I stayed timidly off to the side, sitting carefully on a chair. I wore a lavender damask gown bordered with tiny dots. The sleeves were shirred and the flowing skirt was accented with intricate beadwork. It had cost my father a fortune, but he said it was worth it if I was to meet someone. I highly doubted finding anyone, but he insisted I go. My long indigo hair was pinned up in a simple style, held together with two silver hair ornaments with tiny amethysts in them. My pale skin matched my light eyes. I watched carefully as the couples waltzed around the room, as if gliding on air. I put my head in my hands and sighed dreamily, not even noticing the young man who was about to introduce himself.

"Hello," he began. I sat up straight immediately and turned my head towards the one whom had interrupted my daydreams. He had blonde hair that stuck out everywhere and stunning blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean I loved so much. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki." He had completed his sentence before I had finished summing him up.

I almost forgot my name, and what to say. Thankfully, my 'proper lady' lessons had kicked in. I smiled automatically and bowed slightly. "Hinata Hyuuga. Nice to meet your acquaintance."

He returned the smile gratefully. Oh, what a nice smile that was… Then he did something I had expected, but also not expected. Okay, let me re-phrase that. He did something I knew was going to happen, but it shocked me anyways. Naruto extended his hand and out of his mouth came, "May I have this dance?" I almost squealed in delight, but remembered to keep my 'posture' and 'poise'. Oh, and let's not forget 'grace'.

I held out my hand to him, and he kissed it softly, sending shivers up my arm. Naruto led me onto the dance floor, just as the next song had begun. I put my hand on his shoulder and he placed his hand on my waist and pulled me closer. I felt my face heat up and knew it had turned a nice shade of pink, or possibly even red. We started dancing slowly, in rhythm with the music. He stared into my pale eyes, and I couldn't help but get lost in his. We danced around, and around. The songs changed every so often, although we never stopped dancing. The lights blurred and I realized how dizzy, I must have been from twirling. Although there were people asking to cut in, Naruto ignored them, and kept whirling and leading me around the floor.

I found that soon, people were leaving the dance floor, in attempt to go back home. I glanced at the huge grandfather clock and realized how late it actually was. Naruto seemed to notice too, but he didn't appear to care as we swirled around once more. My feet had started to ache long ago, except I didn't mind at all. The music began to fade around us and the king—when did he arrive?—stood.

"Thank you all for coming! My daughter was very pleased with her birthday gala. I hope I will see very many of you at the next ball. Have a safe journey home, my loyal subjects." The king exited, followed by his queen and his daughter.

We stopped moving and Naruto let my hand go. I couldn't help but feel regretful as he said goodbye, and I did as well. I stared after him longingly when he left the room. I left about four minutes after, snapping out of my daze. My ride was waiting outside and I quietly entered the carriage. I watched out the window, hoping to catch a sight of familiar blonde hair among the crowds. Even so, it was like he had disappeared. I felt disappointed, though soon after I reprimanded myself for wanted to see someone I just met, so badly. Did I really crave attention that much?

My thoughts were cut short when the carriage stopped in front of my house. I thanked the driver and went into the house, straight to my room. I wanted to avoid other people—especially mother—at all costs. It was very dark and I almost tripped over my long gown. I entered my room and closed the door behind me. I turned the lights on and stripped off all the jewelry and my dress. I changed into a nightgown and started undoing my hair. Once it was free, it hung down past my shoulders comfortably. I sighed with relief and jumped into my nice, fluffy bed without a second thought. Would you like to guess who haunted my dreams?

~Naruto's POV~

Why did he keep thinking about her? Why did he even go to that stupid ball? Why was she so beautiful? These were all questions that bounced around in Naruto's head as he settled down into a chair. The room was dark and quiet. A bed was in the left hand corner and the chair Naruto sat in was in front of the fireplace on the east wall.

"Uzumaki-sama." Naruto turned his head to see a young lady dressed in a black dress with a white apron come into the room. She had long, long flaming red hair and an unusual shade of amber for her eyes colour.

"Elesa-chan, I told you to call me Naruto." He sighed. The girl was younger than he was, by at least two years, making her only fifteen years old. She was a maid-in-training, and her mother had just passed, so she'd needed a job. Naruto, being the nice guy he was, let her be a maid at his home, and even allowed her a room. He treated her more like a friend, than a servant, though.

"Yes…Naruto-sama." Elesa walked across the room quickly and gathered up dishes and trash. Naruto's room was—and always was—a complete mess. Like a disaster zone after a hurricane _and_ a tornado. Minus the water.

Naruto slapped his forehead with his palm and sigh rather loudly. Elesa looked over, concerned.

"No honorifics, please…" he said to the girl, who nodded quickly after.

"Good, now… where is the Hyuuga estate located?" Naruto asked. He surprised himself, because he hadn't been thinking about the girl at all. Well, maybe subconsciously.

Elesa looked up with confusion clearly written on her face. "Why?"

"…I was interested in...Hiashi Hyuuga's business." Naruto lied quickly.

"Alright." Elesa looked unsure, but wrote the address down anyways. She handed it to Naruto and he looked at it. _That's all the way across town…but it's down the street from a nice restaurant so…_ As Naruto plotted ways to 'accidently' bump into Hinata again, Elesa left the room. He hadn't noticed and continued his planning.

~ The Next Morning ~

~Hinata~

I woke up find that the sun was threatening to blind me once more. The curtains were opened and the door to my room was open as well. I climbed out of bed and got dressed in a simple white dress that reached to the floor. A black corset was tied around my stomach and I wore little black ballet flats. I left my hair down and left the room.

The hallway was deserted except for Hanabi, whom I had spotted down the hall. I guessed she was making her way towards the dining hall, as was I.

"Hanabi!" I called to her. She turned in surprise and smiled when she saw me. She paused and waited for me to catch up to her.

"How was the gala?" Hanabi asked in a sing-song voice, it was as if she knew about…_him._

"It was…nice." I said, hoping not give anything away. I realized my plan had completely backfired when Hanabi's face lit up.

"You met a boy! Is he handsome? Charming? A prince, perhaps?" Her questions hit me one by one.

"Ummm. Yes, Yes, and I have no idea! All we did was dance… all night." I hadn't meant to let that last part slip out, but it did and I might as well be punished for it.

"All night?" The excited Hanabi didn't even notice that she was about to run into the dining room door until… bam.

"Owww…. Hina-chan, why didn't you warn me?" Hanabi whined.

I giggled before opening the door to the hall. A long table—it could seat at least fifty people and easily seventy—stretched out down the hall and Father sat at the very end, looking…(for lack of better description…) like the kind of father that wouldn't let anyone date his daughter before a series of skill testing questions and an obstacle course of table manners and dancing. Yes, the man for his daughter had to be perfect—supposedly like him, but what girl in her right mind would want to date a boy like her father? Don't even get me started on marriage. I am guessing arranged marriage is my future. I shuddered at the thought. I wanted to marry the one that I loved, not some rich snob.

"Daughters." He said in greeting.

"Father." We said in unison to reply. Just like every morning. I walked calmly to my seat across from Hanabi and sat down. The servants came out and placed a silver tray in front of me. I knew exactly what it was…

The lid opened and—surprise, surprise—a plate of eggs and toast on the side sat in front of me. A glass of orange juice was also placed in front of me. I sighed and began eating.

"Hinata, I have something to discuss with you in the study." My father called from down the table.

I tensed up and looked at Hanabi. She seemed slightly frightened, were as I was freaking out. Could he finally be arranging a marriage? I had assumed it was coming, but I was only seventeen. I stood, my hands shook nervously. I glanced at Hanabi again and she tried to smile in reassurance.

I silently followed my father out of the room and down the long hallway. He stopped in front of a door on the right and opened it, allowing me to step inside first. I swiftly walked across the room to the chair in front of the big desk. Father took his time and finally reached his chair.

"Now, Hinata. As you may know, you have to find a husband by your eighteenth birthday or I will find one for you. Have you any interest in _anyone _yet?"

I shifted in my seat as the blonde from last night appeared in my head. I remained still.

"So I take that at a no. Five days, Hinata." He dismissed me and I hurried out into the hall. I kept running until I saw the doors to go outside. I grabbed a cloak and hurried out into the cool August morning.

~Naruto~

Naruto strolled down Hinata's street, hoping that the girl would have errands to run or something. He still hadn't found the courage to even go to her estate and knock on the door. He ran his fingers through his hair nervously. _Why am I even here?_ He asked himself.

Naruto looked up to see a familiar face running down the street. Her hood had fallen down and her indigo hair streamed behind her and she quickly weaved her way through the crowds. He smiled and moved into place to 'bump' into her.

Everything had gone according to plan when she ran straight into him. She hadn't even been watching. She looked up and blushed a dark shade of pink when realization hit her.

"H-h-hello…" she stuttered quietly, looking at her feet.

"Hey," he paused for dramatic effect. "Umm...Hinata, right?" Naruto faked almost not knowing her name. Of course he knew her name.

Her face brightened quite a bit. Naruto was a bit shocked that knowing her name was such a joy to her. He grinned like a fool anyways.

"You want to get breakfast?" He asked.

"O-Oh. I just a-Actually, t-that would be nice." Hinata smiled sweetly and agreed. Naruto kept smiling at the fact that she just ate. _Operation: Run into her and ask her to breakfast, complete._


	2. Dates and Misfortunes

((Kind of recap in Hinata's POV that jumps into Chapter 2))

I stared in wonder at the boy. He had suddenly appeared right in front of me just as I was thinking, _How nice would it be to run into him…_ Gosh, I think the fates are on my side. I felt my face get hot—a familiar feeling.

"N-Na-Naruto-kun?" I stuttered. I hated to do it, but it came naturally when I was nervous. I silently reprimanded myself until I heard him speak.

"Hey…" He seemed to pause. _He's so cool…_ I thought, as I knew he had paused just for effect. "Umm…Hinata, right?" He finished. I felt a rush of pleasure that he even remembered my name. A smile creeped onto my lips and I nodded. Naruto smiled as well. Then he did something I did not expect, for once.

"You want to get breakfast?" He asked, nonchalantly.

My head went blank. _What do I say?_ I hadn't even woken up yet when I replied.

"O-Oh. I just a…actually, t-that would be nice" I caught myself before I said I had already eaten. So far today had gone from okay to bad to amazing. I wondered how far it would shift before nightfall. I smiled at him and he returned the smile, although it had already been there before.

Naruto took my hand and led me to a nice café that was down the way. I grew even redder than I had been when I'd bumped into him and tried not the loose consciousness at his touch.

We entered the café and sat down at a table near the door. I smoothed down my skirt and fixed my hair when Naruto turned away to find a waiter. I glanced around at the small café. There were about six tables, all nice dark wood with corresponding chairs and green tablespreads. I different set of flowers sat at each table. I noticed that a beautiful bouquet of pink and red roses. I was slightly shocked, as I knew what that meant. _A mixture of pink and red __roses__ signifies a romantic relationship._ I thought to myself, but then countered that with _He probably doesn't even know that, so it's most likely just a coincidence._ As I argued with myself the waiter came around and gave us a menu.

I scanned it and asked for a cinnamon roll and a small glass of milk. Naruto asked for ramen, which shocked both me and the waiter. People don't eat ramen for breakfast, usually. _What an odd guy… Very interesting. _

I saw a shape out of the corner of my eye, and realized it was a black cat. It ran around like its tail was on fire, yowling all the way. It bolted out the café door.

I gave the waiter a strange look, but he just smiled along. He seemed slightly embarrassed. The waiter backed away, going to get their order.

Naruto burst out laughing. "Did you _see_ that cat?" He asked.

I giggled quietly as I covered my mouth. '_Five days…' _My father's voice rang in my head. Would I be able to get him to fall in love with me in just five days? What if was already courting another lady? My smile disappeared at these thoughts. I caught Naruto looking at me with a worried expression, and I smiled once more to reassure him.

The waiter came back around, though no longer looking as red as he was. He placed Naruto's…ramen in front of him and my cinnamon roll in front of me with my milk. I tore off a piece and placed it in my mouth, savoring the sweet and warm taste. It was comforting.

By the time I looked up, however, Naruto was already finished his ramen. I realized I was staring and I looked away, knowing I went red in the face.

"Are you sick? You're really red…" Naruto asked.

"N-No. I'm just…ano…" I trailed off. I was so embarrassed. What if he thought I was weird?

"Okay, as long as you aren't sick." Naruto said kind of quietly. Then there was silence. Awkward silence was always fun. Yeah, no. We—I, really— finished the rest of my meal and placed some money on the table for my milk and cinnamon roll.

"Would you like to go for a walk? Talk a bit and stuff?" He asked, one hand scratched his head awkwardly. I beamed and nodded, standing up quietly and smoothing down my skirt once more. I inhaled deeply only to let it out in a sigh when I saw him looking at me.

"I would love t-to…" I almost whispered. I let him push in my chair and then he paid the bill and the tip. Naruto pushed in his hair and led me out of the café, waving to the waiter who smiled back at him. As soon as they had walked out of the restaurant, however, a guy with brown spiky hair in a ponytail walked over and started chatting with Naruto.

"Good morning, Naruto and…?" He started.

"Hinata. Hyuuga Hinata." I stated, praising myself internally for not stuttering. He looked at me with curiosity then turned back to Naruto and said something that I didn't catch. Naruto laughed at that and smiled.

"I'm sorry, how rude of me. My name is Nara Shikamaru." He said to me. Shikamaru had a lazy aura about him, unlike Naruto's excited and fun aura.

"Pleasure to m-meet you…" I stuttered. I started to fiddle with the end of my indigo hair.

"She's shy. So, Shikamaru, what brings you this part of town?" Naruto asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, don't you live on the farthest away part of town? Why are you way over here?" He asked, slyly shooting glances at me, that I almost didn't notice.

"Shikamaru!" An angry girl's voice rose above the crowd. Shikamaru visibly flinched.

"Oh, Temari caught up to me, I've got to go… Please tell you've talked to Kiba already. No, wait, I don't have time. I'll see you later!" Shikamaru called as he ran down the cobblestone street, dodging people and weaving around carts. An outraged blonde strutted past us. Her hair was in four spiky ponytails, her eyes a crystalline blue. She called after Shikamaru again, but he seemed to ignore her.

"That's r-rude…" I said without thinking. Naruto glanced at me, and then burst out laughing.

"Shikamaru's always like that. A genuine woman hater, as he says. Although I know he's completely mad about that girl, Temari. I'm great friends with Temari's brother, Gaara." Naruto explained. "We're basically brothers."

I nodded, as it seemed the polite thing to do. Naruto sure had…odd friends. I liked it, though. It was a nice break from the order and peace at the Hyuuga estate.

"Now, to the park!"

* * *

Naruto slumped into the chair, exhausted after the day with Hinata. First they had had breakfast, after that was a quiet walk in the park (Hinata didn't talk a lot, it was nice.) and then the invigorating walk all the way back to his house after taking her out for lunch and walking her home.

"Oh, Uzu…Naruto-sama, you're home." Elesa entered the room. Naruto sighed loudly at the girl who wouldn't get a clue. Did he finally find someone denser than he? _'Impossible'_ a voice told him. He scowled inwardly.

Elesa crossed the room and handed Naruto a letter, or rather, a notice. It had the words, _Final Notice_, written in red across the top. Naruto groaned and scanned the short page.

_Uzumaki Naruto,_

_You're debt is due in three days; this is your FINAL warning. If you do not pay this debt, you shall be punished severely. Your current debt is 1, 550, 212 yen. Do not ignore this letter. It will be your _last _mistake. We know where you are._

_Signed,_

_Akatsuki Organization_

"Not these guys again…Woah. That's a lot of money…" Naruto noticed. "I have three days to get one and a half million yen?" He stood up quickly, almost knocking over Elesa, who had been reading over his shoulder.

"But… aren't you broke now, Naruto-sama?" She asked him.

"Yes…" Naruto sighed heavily. "I guess it's time to get back into old habits."

Elesa gasped quietly, but didn't say anything else. She hurried out of the room as Naruto picked up the phone.

"Shikamaru? It's Naruto. We need to get everyone together. I've got a heist that needs pulling off."

* * *

I sighed deeply, but happily when I had finally returned home. It had been a perfect day—well, despite the marriage thing… But putting that aside, Naruto was perfect… cool, handsome, kind, thoughtful. Okay, so not that thoughtful; He was still a little bit dense (A/N: A _LITTLE_ bit? Oh Hinata, darling…)

After making sure the door was shut behind me, and scouting the hall ahead for people, I hurried down the hallway to my room. I was praying to God that no one would be in the hall of my room, but those thoughts quickly dispersed as I rounded the corner and ran straight into someone. I looked up, and the little hope that had been on my face, vanished.

"N-Neji nii-san! I-I…" I breathed deeply and stepped back a bit. Summoning the courage, I spoke clearly and with purpose. "I'm going to my room!" I said quickly and ducked around him, thinking, '_What happened to courage and speaking clearly and with purpose?'_ I mentally reprimanded myself after shutting myself in my room.

"Hinata-sama! Get back out here!" Neji's voice rang down the hallway, still clear as it hit my door. I shuttered and opened the door, not to find Neji down the hall, but already at my door.

"What was that about?" he asked. His eyes were full of…confusion? Okay, this is odd.

"N-Nothing." I stuttered. Curse this nervousness. I extended my hand, as to try to close the door, but Neji grabbed my wrist.

"Is Hiashi-sama forcing you into marriage?" He asked coolly.

"Ano… I mustn't speak of my Father's wishes with you. That is w-what he has told me." I said quietly. Neji's expression hardened and his eyes shifted from confusion to anger.

"He can't—" Neji started, but I held up my hand. He paused, waiting for what I had to say. I could see the anger swelling up inside of him.

"Neji-nii-san… He already has. H-he is my father and I must l-listen to him. Even at the cost of my own h-happiness." I stepped back into my room and closed the door behind me. After I heard Neji's reluctant steps fade away, I slid down the door and sat on the ground. My head was in my hands, and I was already starting to sob.

"W-W-What am I-I going t-to do…?"


	3. Midnight Reunion

_**((I will now be updating EVERY Sunday, unless I've said otherwise))**_

_**Chapter 3**_:

Naruto paced around the room, waiting for the last member of their group to show up. When Kiba finally stepped through the door Naruto quickly took an attendance to see if everyone had shown. He looked around the room. _Kiba, Shikamaru, Sai, and…Sasuke. Good we're all here._

"Okay… so I called everyone here to find out ways to get me some money..." Naruto began.

"We know that, idiot." Sasuke retorted and slumped in his chair.

Naruto shot a look at Sasuke and then continued. "I have one plan so far, and that is to steal some valuable stuff from different homes."

"How 'bout you marry that pretty girl that was with you this morning?" Shikamaru suggested.

"Nah, she doesn't like me that much, plus it's far too soon for that. I don't have a lot of time." Naruto pushed away the thought. He liked that idea, sure, but as he'd just said… Hinata probably didn't feel the same way.

Sasuke huffed a sigh of annoyance. Sai shot a questioning look to them all. "Why don't we just rob her? She's probably got loads of money, since her family is the wealthiest in the city."

"…" Naruto didn't say anything. As much as he needed the money, he wasn't prepared to go rob Hinata. "I mean, why not? You barely know the girl." Sasuke concluded for Sai. He didn't like Sai very much, so it was nice to see them actually agreeing on something.

"So it's settled. We rob the Hyuuga estate, tonight." Shikamaru said. "Hurry to your homes and grab your supplies, gentlemen. We are back in business."

Everybody quickly left as Naruto stood there dumbfounded. As soon as he was alone he muttered, "Sure, I don't get a say in _anything_ around here… and I'm the damn leader!"

* * *

I quickly jumped out my window, after looking around. My bag kept hitting my leg, so I readjusted it on my shoulder. It was dark; the midnight sky showed many stars and the full moon was reflected on the estate's pond.

"And where are you going on this fine evening?" A voice I recognized so well asked from in the shadows to the left.

"N-Neji-nii-san… Why aren't you asleep yet?" I asked, trying to play innocent.

"Hinata-sama, you can't run away from your father's plans." Neji stepped out of the shadows. He had totally ignored my question beforehand.

"I-I'm not…" I started, but lost the confidence in my lie and my voice trailed off timidly.

"Hinata-sama. I've known you for very long. Now, get back inside before I—" he was cut off by the burglar alarm ringing throughout the house. I heard a voice curse loudly and then call someone's name. Someone that I knew.

"Shikamaru! How in the hell did you trip the alarm? What happened to being pro?" his voice I didn't recognize, but the next one I did, and it tore my heart in two.

"Sasuke, Shikamaru! Find Kiba and get out. I'll get Sai and—" Naruto's voice was interrupted by the second alarm going off.

I dove into my bedroom through the window and found Naruto standing there. I just stood there, staring. His face was filled with surprise, and his eyes already with regret.

"Hinata, I…" He didn't finish. Instead, he backed away and slipped out the door faster than any man I'd ever seen before. It was like he was a ninja or something. _That's silly. Ninjas do not exist._ I told myself (A/N: LOL. HAD to say that.)

I was still frozen to the spot when someone I didn't know came in and grabbed my wrist tightly. He had dark hair and cold, onyx eyes. I didn't even hesitate in following him, because I was still dazed. _Naruto…in my house. Is he…stealing from my family? But…why?_ The same questions floated around in my head and only Neji's voice snapped me out of it.

"Hinata-sama! What are you doing? Resist! They're kidnapping you!" He called out to me. Another guy with black hair was holding him back as the first dark haired one towed me through the gates of the house. Before I knew it, I was in a carriage and being pulled away from my home.

* * *

"What the _hell,_ Sasuke?" Naruto yelled at him. "You can't just _take _people from their homes!"

"You are only saying that 'cause you like her." Sasuke replied shortly. He sat down in his chair, slumped from being yelled at.

"…" Naruto didn't reply, instead he looked at Hinata's sleeping figure and sighed deeply.

"Earth to Naruto…" Kiba said waving his hand in front of the blonde's face. He swatted the hand away and glared daggers at him. Kiba flipped his palms up defensively.

"What's the problem?" Sai asked. "It's just for a little while we hold her for ransom."

"She's going to hate me." Naruto sighed again and buried his head in his hands. The group was sitting in their hideout, with Hinata passed out on the only bed. There were several chairs and a couch in the room, also a fireplace that was burning.

Suddenly the door opened. A girl stepped into the room, her short pink hair was soaked and her glowing green eyes indicated that she was angry. Well, pissed really.

"_What did you do?"_ her voice dripped poison. She stomped through the room and stood in front of Naruto. She then happened to glance up and notice Hinata.

"You stole a _girl?_ What happened to calling off the gang? Why wasn't I informed that we had another heist?"

"Sakura…Calm down." Sasuke said. She shut up immediately and to that, Kiba smirked. He'd whispered something to Sai, but sai just looked back at him blankly. Kiba face palmed and shook his head.

"It wasn't me! It was your boyfriend that did it!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger at the dark haired guy who sat beside him. Sasuke showed no effort to deny the fact.

"Did you?" Sakura turned on him. He looked generally emotionless until Sakura glared at him deeply. Then he showed the tiniest hint of fear.

"Maybe." He replied slowly. Then, after catching the girl's killing intent he sighed. "Yeah. I thought I'd be worth it." Sasuke shrugged and prepared for the yelling.

"Well… _WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"_ She's made it seem that she wasn't going to yell, which made Sasuke loosen up, then she screamed at him. Sasuke feel out of the chair and stared up at the furious girl.

Then, the room went silent as they all heard the slight moan of a certain indigo haired beauty. They all looked over and saw that she was now almost awake. Yawning, Hinata sat up and rubbed her eyes. The gang remained silent. Sakura was receiving glares, though.

Hinata cast her gaze over to the living room area of the hideout and gasped at the group. She only looked really confused, as they knew that she didn't know any of the people she was looking at…until her sight landed on Naruto. Then her eyes showed sadness and the emotion of betrayal.

Naruto stood up, only to have Sakura push him back down onto the couch. She crossed the room and stood in front of the other girl.

"Are you okay? My name is Haruno Sakura. I won't let these _idiots_ harm you, okay?" Sakura said 'idiots' very loudly and she received grunts of complaint. Those stopped as soon as she glared back.

"I-I-I'm Hyuuga…H-Hinata." The poor girl stuttered. They could all tell she was nervous and frightened.

"Nice to meet you, Hinata-san." Sakura said kindly. She extended her hand slowly to the girl and Hinata accepted it. She shook Sakura's hand and glanced over at the blonde. Only Sakura noticed, though.

She leaned down to the Hyuuga girl's ears and whispered, "He's an idiot, but this wasn't his idea. He was over-ruled as far as I know."


	4. Discoveries

So sorry I haven't posted in a while! Here's Chapter Four!

_**Chapter 4:**_

Hiashi paced the room, glancing to the door every five minutes. Waiting. Hoping. He almost jumped out of his skin as Neji burst through the dark wooded door.

"We still haven't heard a word." He said sadly and slumped into a nearby armchair. Neji then buried his head in his hands and almost began to sob. "It's all my fault," he muttered over and over again.

"No. It's mine. I placed a great amount of stress on her and then she couldn't think." Hiashi almost mirrored Neji's pose, though at his desk.

Then there was the knock. Both the Hyuuga men rushed upwards and then towards the door. It opened quickly revealing the shocked face of a tall man with dark hair and blue eyes.

"I have a letter for Hyuuga Hiashi." He stated. Hiashi basically ripped the letter from the man's grip and then slammed the door in his face. Neji made no movement.

"Hyuuga Hiashi," The head of the Hyuuga family began reading. Neji once more, sank into the comfort of the velvet blue chair.

"I am sure that you are aware of your daughter's absence. I can assure you that she is fine and in safe hands. She will stay in these hands until our demands are met. Now, here are the requirements for getting your daughter back in one piece.

We want three million ryo and at least five pounds of gold. We also want your nephew in exchange for your daughter…" Hiashi trailed off as Neji looked up with a great deal of surprise on his face.

"…We hope you value your daughter more than money.

Signed,

Sai"

Hiashi paused. The name 'Sai' was scratched out and underneath was written in, 'Kidnappers'. He threw down the paper onto his desk. "What the hell am I supposed to do? I am expected to marry off my daughter to the heir of the Tarashi family! I could easily pay the money, but I can't risk you, Neji."

The amount of care that Hiashi showed shocked Neji, but he continued to listen anyways.

"Plus the heir is coming to dinner to meet Hinata on her birthday. I'm not even sure if he knows this yet… I'm so stressed." Hiashi rambled and sank down into his chair. He motioned for Neji to leave, and he followed orders.

"I can't even imagine what's happening to her right now…"

* * *

I sat quietly on the outside of the room with Sakura, listening to the guys arguing. My eyes were mostly on the blonde that I admired so.

"Alright! Everyone shut up!" Naruto finally shouted after not saying anything for about an hour. He had stood up and extended his hands to the ceiling in attempt to make everyone stopped talking. I jumped from his sudden motion, and felt Sakura do the same.

"Now. Kiba… didn't you say something?" Naruto asked the boy in the dark red recliner.

Kiba shrugged. "I just wanna leave."

"Okay. You can leave to go home, then." Naruto dismissed him. He then turned to Sasuke.

"And what did you want?" He sighed. I watched him and then suddenly felt my face go red. I turned away to see Sakura silently laughing at me. I pouted and watched Naruto again.

"You know what I want." Sasuke replied coolly. Naruto gave an exasperated sigh.

"Sasuke, you can't have a raise because you aren't getting paid. Nobody is getting paid."

Sasuke huffed and sat back down, grumbling to himself.

"Alright now that all the yelling is done, I can have some peace." The blonde said happily.

Sai rose his hand and Naruto's eyes snapped to him like a vulture. Sai quickly dropped it and looked away. Naruto smiled.

"Ano…when do I get to go home? Not that I want to, or anything." I asked quietly.

Naruto's gaze flickered to me and I saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. He hadn't meant to get me kidnapped. Although it had happened before and this wasn't even a quarter as bad as the other three had been.

"When your dad sends over the money and Neji, you can go home." Sakura explained.

"N-Neji-nii-san?" I stuttered. I looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah. He's supposed to be traded for you." Sasuke spoke loudly for once and it scared Naruto slightly. I glanced over at Shikamaru, who hadn't said a thing in four hours. I didn't know how he did it.

I finally processed what Sasuke had said and it alarmed me. "What? N-Neji-nii-san is to take my p-place? Why?" I exclaimed. I stood up and looked accusingly at Sai, whom had written the ransom.

Sai shrugged. "I thought it'd be fun to have another member."

Naruto didn't speak. I could tell he didn't know of this, by his slight change of expression and the surprise that still lingered in his eyes.

I plopped down on the couch and sighed loudly. "Great. Now f-father gets to lose his only 'son' and gain his sh-shame of a daughter. He'll never d-do it you know. In fact, he'll send money for a th-thank you that you t-took me away." I was almost sobbing now.

Naruto stood, finally moving after the five minutes of his stillness. He sat down on the couch next to me and hugged me. He held me for a good ten minutes until Sasuke coughed and I was done silently sobbing.

"It's okay. I'll make sure that it'll be okay." Naruto said soothingly. He shot a look at Sai, who instantly hid behind Shikamaru.

"Well. It's about time that I go home and meet Temari, she's probably flipping. I don't want her brother to come kill me. Wait. Speaking of Gaara… where has he been. Some co-captain he has been. Not even showing up to meetings. And he lives here for God's sake." Shikamaru continued his complaints while Sakura stood and walked over to Sasuke.

"Time to go, I assume." Sasuke said boredly. Sakura nodded and they walked out of the room together.

Shikamaru finally finished talking…to himself and left with a low grumbling about no one listened to him. Or something that that. Sai stuck around.

"Why are you still here, Sai?" Naruto asked after a while of quiet. I was curled up on the bed, trying to sleep. It was almost midnight and I was dead tired. I heard Sai speak, but I couldn't make sense of the words before I drifted off into sweet silence.

* * *

Naruto paced the room, unaware of Gaara's presence. It was already morning and Naruto hadn't slept much on the couch. He never got any sleep on the couch. He glanced over to see Hinata sleeping on his bed. She looked like an Angel, with the way the light was hitting her milky complexion.

"Having fun being a creep?" The voice echoed through the room and Naruto jumped a foot.

"Gaara!" He hissed. "She's asleep."

"Yeah, you'd know that, wouldn't you? Why exactly is she here and who exactly is she?" Gaara asked casually.

"Hinata Hyuuga. She's the heiress for the Hyuuga fortune. The gang thought it would be fun to rob her, and then kidnap her without my knowing. Stupid Sasuke." Naruto grumbled. He moved to the other side of the room and sat down on the couch.

"Hmm. Interesting. She's very pretty, isn't she?" Gaara was teasing, but apparently the dense blonde didn't catch on.

"Hey. No. I saw her first." Naruto glared at the redhead.

Gaara held up his hands defensively. "I was joking. You probably didn't get it because I don't joke often."

Naruto's gaze softened. "Oh." Was all he said. He looked back at the sleeping girl and sighed.

"You got it bad, don't you?" Gaara almost laughed. Almost.

"Hey, what? I have no idea what you're talking about. I have what bad? Am I sick? Do I _look_ sick?" Naruto started rambling until Gaara put up his hand to cease his chatter.

"Nevermind, Naruto. You should get some rest soon; you look as tired as…well, me. But I don't sleep and I'm used to not sleeping. You, on the other hand…" Gaara trailed off when he realized Naruto wasn't listening, but staring at the Hyuuga again. He shook his head. "I give up." He whispered and walked out of the room. Naruto hardly noticed.

* * *

I woke to an empty room, disorientated and still tired. I sat up quickly, wondering where everyone was. Then I quickly realized that only Naruto lived here. And someone named Gaara.

A split second later, someone entered the room. It wasn't Naruto, so I assumed it was Gaara. He was handsome, with dark red hair and cyan eyes. His skin was slightly tanned, more so than Naruto's.

He sort of resembled Naruto, in a way. _I wonder if that's his brother…_ I thought. He looked at me, with no emotion at all, and I shivered.

"H-hello. I'm…" I got cut off by his raise of the hand.

"Lady Hinata." He finished for me. "There is breakfast waiting in the dining room. I do hope you'll join us." And he turned and left.

"U-Us?" My heart sped up at the thought of the blonde. I quickly jumped out of the bed and noticed that I was still wearing what I had worn the night I was kidnapped. I gasped with horror when I saw my hair in the mirror. I straightened it with my fingers, quickly brushing it. It was then I noticed the black bag that had a note on it. It read:

"_Hinata,_

_These are some clothes for you._

_-Sakura."_

"Sakura saves the day," I muttered and rooted through the bag. I plucked a dark purple sundress from the lot and quickly changed.

Running out the door, I navigated to the dining room. It took a good ten minutes, but thankfully the townhouse wasn't as large as it looked.

"Ah, so you have decided to join us." Gaara said, again with his non-caring tone. He reminded me of a certain Hyuuga named Neji-nii-san.

I nodded and took a seat at the large table. Naruto sat across from me, and he smiled nervously when we locked eyes. Was he still afraid that I hated him for the kidnapping?

"Good m-morning." I stuttered. _Hinata, stop stuttering, already!_

He nodded and looked towards the door that had just opened. The maid walked in and served breakfast. It was a fruit bowl with chocolate dipping sauce, and off to the side was toast. I ate quickly and sat quietly, studying the two boys that were eating slowly. Gaara seemed…interesting. He was quiet and mysterious, while Naruto was loud and unpredictable. The two were mostly unalike in many ways, yet they got along so well. It surprised me. His eyes were deep and unreadable, and Naruto's were always happy and bright.

"Are you going to keep staring at me, or…?" Gaara asked. I popped out of my thoughts and blushed at the fact that I had been staring. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a blink of…was it slight rage going through Naruto's ocean eyes? Why?

"Well. I think we should all go to the park for a picnic at lunch time. Wouldn't that be nice, Hinata?" Naruto interrupted.

"That would be n-nice." I replied with my usual stutter. Why did I stutter so much around him?

"Yes! I could invite Kiba, Shikamaru, Temari, Sasuke, Sakura, Sai…" Naruto rambled on about all his friends, and when he said Temari, Gaara's face lit up just a tiny bit. I remembered that Temari was his sister and smiled. I missed my sister very much, but it couldn't be helped.

My eyes widened as I remembered what day it was. Three days until my birthday. Until I was to marry some stranger. Well, only if I didn't go home. I could easily live in this townhouse…with Naruto… The thought made me giddy and scared at the same time.

* * *

Naruto helped Elesa pack the food into several baskets while Gaara and Hinata were preparing sandwiches and desserts. It was nice to be in the kitchen, but it would be even nicer to be outside on a clear, sunny afternoon.

He was in a fantastic mood. Until he had seen the letter that had reminded him that his last day was tomorrow. He glanced over at the lavender eyed beauty for the millionth time during her stay. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and concentrated on packing the food. Once they were all finished, they loaded the carriage with the food.

Naruto helped Hinata into the carriage and they drove to the park silently. He watched as Hinata watched the floor and her hands rested on her knees. He wondered why, but he forgot about it by the time they arrived.

Naruto smiled when he saw all his friends sitting in the green park. The cherry blossom trees were surrounding the clearing and the pond had tiny streams down throughout the clearing. Little red bridges crossed over several streams.

Shikamaru and Temari sat under a tree together and Temari was saying something while Shikamaru seemed to be ignoring her and staring at the clouds.

Kiba ran around the field with his giant of a dog. Sai sat under a different tree, painting the scene.

Sakura was sitting with Sasuke by a shallow pool while she swirled her hand in the water.

Hinata got out of the carriage and walked calmly to the clearing, carrying two picnic baskets. Naruto grabbed three and Gaara grabbed the last two, and they made their way over.

* * *

Neji walked through the park to his favourite spot, but stopped when he spotted the huge amount of people in the clearing. He recognized a few. From the robbery. A small spark of hope flared in him as he searched for the indigo haired Hyuuga.

He saw her and turned to go tell Hiashi. As he turned, he walked right into someone and fell on top of them. He saw a girl with brown hair pulled into two buns. She was pretty and Neji just stared at her until she spoke up.

"Um, hi. I know how great it is to stare at me all day, but could you get off of me. I've got to go meet some people." She said with a smirk.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry." Neji said as he rolled off of her and got up. He helped her up and introduced himself. "I'm Neji Hyuuga."

"Tenten." The girl said before walking away. He stared her for three moments before rushing back to the Hyuuga estate.


	5. Engagement party and Late Night Moments

_**Chapter 5:**_

Shikamaru looked down at Temari. "Hey, it may be troublesome, but…" He paused and took out a small box. "We're practically married anyways, so you can just have this ring." He opened the box and put the ring on her finger.

Temari remained speechless. "Did you just propose?" She finally asked.

"Are you saying no?" Shikamaru countered. He smiled at her.

"No! I'll marry you!" Temari cried and hugged him tightly. She then jumped up and ran over to where the other girls were sitting. "I'm engaged!" She yelled and all the girls erupted into squeals.

"Troublesome women." Shikamaru sighed and watched the clouds again, but with a smile on his face.

* * *

Naruto looked out the window, trying to escape from the party. He actually hated parties, but it was one of his best friend's engagement party, so he might as well be there.

The blonde also kept stealing glances at Hinata. _I just can't get her out of my head. This is worse than when I had a crush on Sakura. I think…_

His thoughts were interrupted by the approach of a dark haired guy. "Idiot, I saw you staring at the Hyuuga. What's up?" Sasuke asked.

"…I think...I think I love her, Sasuke. It's crazy. But I think I love her." Naruto said seriously.

"You've only known her for what…two days?" Sasuke exclaimed.

Naruto shirked away, but didn't respond. Sasuke gave a loud sigh of exasperation. "You are unbelievable. You're an idiot! You are…" He paused, thinking.

"Insane? I know. But I believe I'm in love with her." Naruto stared at his best friend.

"You _believe_ you are in love with her. Naruto, it's a delusion. You just want something you can't have."

"I can't stop thinking about her, Sasuke."

"Go talk to the girl already." Kakashi said. Naruto leapt four feet into the air and spun to face the silver haired man.

"When did you _get_ here?" Naruto asked. "You know what. I don't care. I'm going to talk to Hinata."

The blonde strode off as Sasuke face palmed. "He doesn't even see that he can't be with her! He's a wanted man, and if they know he loves her… they'll take her. Naruto's being selfish." He explained.

"Love is difficult." Kakashi stated. Then he walked away.

"That's it? 'Love is difficult' is all that you have to say?" Sasuke shouted after his teacher.

* * *

I stood quietly while the other girls talked amongst themselves. I was too busy thinking to talk, anyways. _What am I doing? Neji-nii-san and Hanabi are probably worried sick about me, and I'm sitting down enjoying a party? What kind of sister am I?_ I knew why I was still here. The reason rang in my head all night. _You are only here because of Naruto-kun. Aren't you?_

I shook my head of all thoughts and tried to focus on the conversation in front of me.

Sakura and Tenten were talking about a boy that she'd met in the park.

"So, he fell on me and then stared at me. It was so awkward! Except… I can't stop thinking about him." Tenten gushed.

"What's his name?" Sakura asked, as I took a sip of my drink.

"Neji."

I almost started choking at the mention of his name. _Neji-nii-san?_ The girls looked at me in alarm.

"Hinata! Are you okay?" Sakura asked. She rushed to my side and tried to help. I doubled over coughing and I couldn't breathe. I tried to speak, but you really can't when there is no air in your lungs.

"Does anyone know how to help someone who's choking?" Tenten called out.

I finally took a breath after 3 seconds and took another drink of water. "I'm fine…" I sputtered.

Suddenly, Naruto cut through the crowd. Concern crossed his face and he dropped down beside me.

"Are you okay, Hinata?" He asked. My heart melted. _Now I am_. I thought with an inward smile. I blushed furiously as he helped me up. _Holding…my…hand…_ I thought and tried to breathe again.

"W-what did you say about…Neji-n…?" I asked Tenten, and tried to say his name without the honorifics. I slightly failed.

Naruto still stood beside me; he seemed very concerned by the thought of me almost dying. _Interesting._ I thought.

"Neji Hyuuga. Hmm, strange, isn't that your last name?" Tenten thought out loud.

I nodded, "He's basically m-my brother."

"That's cool!" Tenten said. I could tell she liked Neji-nii-san. I smiled, happy for him.

"I think I need fresh a-air." I said after a half an hour. I cut my way through the crowd, making my way towards the balcony.

"Hinata! Wait up!" I heard Naruto call. I paused, and turned to see him maneuver his way through the people. _How many people know Shikamaru and Temari? I mean, this is ridicules._ I thought to myself.

The blonde finally reached me and then we both walked out onto the balcony.

* * *

"I've spotted the subject, sir." A man whispered to his commanding officer.

"Good, who is that with him? I think I've seen her before." He responded.

Another one, with blue skin, replied, "She's been on wanted posters around town."

"Criminal?" The boss asked.

"Kidnapped." The blue one answered.

He nodded. "Subordinate. Capture the girl. She is worth a lot and she might will bring Naruto to us. We will commence at 2 am."

* * *

I gazed up at the diamond sky, trying to count the stars. "There's just so many…" I whispered. I heard Naruto laugh a bit and I looked over to see him smiling as he watched the night sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He asked. Then he turned and looked at me.

My head filled with thoughts…_We're alone…on this balcony…looking at the stars. This is the perfect romantic setting, as described in all those romance novels. What if he kisses me?_

I felt my face glow red at my thoughts, but didn't mention them.

"Hinata, I wanted to apologize for my gang kidnapping you. It wasn't my idea, but I'm still to blame for the whole thing." He said, while looking at the ground.

_He's apologizing?_ I looked at him quickly. "Oh, I-I'm actually glad you kidnapped me. More like r-rescuing, really. Y-You see I was to marry some stranger, but now…Father can't get to m-me and force me into marriage."

"Well, that's good then. Now I don't feel so guilty! Thank you, Hinata!" Naruto grinned and I had to smile back. His smile was completely contagious to me.

"Oh, and I wanted to ask you something." Naruto said quietly.

I stared at him. "What is it?" I responded.

"May I… try something?"

"Ano…As long as it doesn't involve anyone j-jumping off the balcony…" I laughed and he did too.

"No, nothing dangerous. Close your eyes, and don't open them." He commanded.

I obeyed and closed my eyes. Then the next minute changed everything. I suddenly felt Naruto's warm lips on mine and I gasped in surprise. He deepened the kiss and I kissed him back, after getting over the shock.

After breaking away, Naruto said I could open my eyes with a nervous laugh. I did so and stared in complete shock at the blonde. He was my definition of perfect. And this was my definition of the perfect evening. Oh, how wrong was I.

~3 hours later~

I woke with a jolt as I was dragged out of my bed. I had been replaying the night's events on the balcony in my head over and over. Naruto kissed me. After that we went back to the party and hung out with all of our friends. It really was a perfect night.

Until now. A felt my hands being bound and a bag was put over my already blind eyes (from the dark of the room, I'm not actually blind, though I look like it…)

I tried to scream, but as soon as I'd opened my mouth, someone hit me in the head and I fell unconscious.

So much for an amazing night.

* * *

Naruto entered Hinata's room after noticing that she hadn't yet visited the dining room. It was now noon, and he figured it wouldn't be rude to wake her now.

To the blonde's surprise, he found the room a mess. The blankets were strewn across the floor in the direction of the window—which was shattered—and there were blood stains on the carpet. Not a lot, but it looked like someone had been hit.

"…Oh my God." Naruto said. He searched the room for Hinata and only found a note on the girl's bed.

Naruto quickly unfolded the note and scanned every word:

"_Naruto Uzumaki,_

_Since you have failed to return to us our money, we have stolen something else that is precious in your life. She will be of great value._

_Akatsuki Organization."_

Naruto read the note over and over to make sure he read it right. Finally he said, "Damn it!" And rushed out of the room to find Gaara.


	6. Shattered Silence

**I'm really sorry guys. **_**Really**_** sorry. I'm so late with this chapter! And it's a short one, too…. Ah. I hope you enjoy it. I think I'm only going to go to ten chapters, and then start my other fanfic that'll be thirty chapters long. More or less. Anyways…**

Chapter 6

When I finally woke, the room was pitch black. Or I still had a bag over my head. I opted with the bag and I tried to remove it, only to find that my hands were still bound.

I realized I was lying on a cold concrete floor and sat up. "H-Hello?" I called out.

"Oh. So you are awake." A voice rang through the room. It must have been big with an echo like that. _I may be in a dungeon…_

"Y-Yes…" I answered, though I had the feeling it was a statement rather than a question.

"Miss Hyuuga…Do you know why you are here?" The man asked.

"No."

"Well. Let me enlighten you." And with that, he pulled off the bag over my head. I was blinded by sudden light and noticed that yes, I was in a dungeon, and yes, it was big. And probably rat infested.

Then I took a look at the man. He had dark hair and piercing red eyes. He reminded me so much of…Sasuke. The resemblance shocked me. I blinked.

"Oh, it seems you recognize me. Though that's odd, since I've never had the pleasure of meeting you before last night." He thought for a moment. "You must know my brother. Yes, that is it. My little brother, Sasuke."

I hesitated. Sasuke had a brother? He was a kidnapper too. Guess it runs in the family.

"I must seem very rude to not have introduced myself." Sasuke's brother said. "I am Itachi Uchiha. Nice to meet you, Miss Hinata Hyuuga."

I remained silent. He still hadn't told me the reason for kidnapping me. Although I had a feeling he was going to, soon.

"You are here, because we want your boyfriend." Itachi explained.

"B-Boyfriend?" I tried to think of who that might be and came up with the answer pretty quickly. "N-Naruto-kun isn't my boyfriend!" I exclaimed. _Oh, but I wish he was…_

"Either way, he'll come for you, correct?" Itachi didn't wait for my answer. "You see, Naruto Uzumaki is in possession of a very rare, very powerful gift. Only nine people in the entire world have those gifts. My organization has been trying to collect those gifts and we almost have all of them. Now, if Naruto doesn't cooperate, we will…kill you."

I was rendered speechless. Itachi kept talking, nonetheless. "Of course we'll need to kill him to receive his power, as it is inside of him."

My eyes widened. _If it is either me or Naruto…_ "Th-Then I'll die. I won't let him d-die for me." I whispered to myself.

* * *

"That's a bit selfish, don't you think?" Itachi said as he closed the door to the dungeon. He didn't look back to see the silvery tears rolling down my face.

"We have to find her. Where is this organization located?" Naruto asked frantically. He stared at the red haired boy, who sipped his tea calmly and quietly.

Gaara didn't look up. He was smarter than that. Instead, he stared at the letter while he drank his tea. He didn't speak, either.

The blonde then threw his hands in the air out of exasperation.

"If you aren't going to say anything, then how does that help me?" Naruto asked. Although he already knew that Gaara wasn't going to listen.

"What's up?" A familiar voice lingered in the room. Naruto spun around to see Sasuke and Sakura in the doorway.

"Hinata got kidnapped." Gaara said quietly. Naruto glared at him.

"Wow. So they kidnapped one that was already kidnapped. Hinata must be used to being kidnapped." Sasuke said with little to no concern.

Naruto ignored him and stormed out of the room. Gaara looked up to see him leave and shook his head absently. He took another sip at his tea. Sakura had a look of deep concern on her face, but she didn't speak her mind. Sasuke just stared after the blonde.

Then he moved. "Naruto! Get back here, idiot!" He called after him and then follow quickly.

Sakura was about to do the same, but Gaara rose up his hand. "Don't."

She let out a breath and sat down at the table. "Do you know what's up with him right now?"

The red haired boy just stared at the doorway that Naruto had disappeared into. Without looking at her, he replied, "He's in love with the girl."

* * *

Sasuke had finally gotten Naruto to calm down. The boy was sitting down, though still fuming. He was muttering things like '_I'm gonna kill them'_ or '_How could I let this happen?'_

"Look. It's not your fault Naru—" Sasuke was cut off by Naruto shooting glares like daggers at him.

Sai walked into the room. "Hello… What would you guys do if I told I knew where Hinata is?"

* * *

The silence was unbearable, and I couldn't break it. I had tried to make noise, but everything seemed muffled somehow. I had given up after trying speaking.

My hair was knotted and messy, my night-dress was torn in some places, and my face was still damp from the tears I had shed. They wouldn't come anymore, however.

I sat on the floor, back against one of the walls, thinking. _How am I going to get out of this? Surely Naruto won't give his life just for me… I mean, I love him, but I don't think he returns the feeling. But then… What was that kiss? An experiment? No. It was more than that._ It seemed as if I was fighting with myself on this particular topic. _Does he even notice I'm gone? We've only known each other for… has it only been five days? It seems much longer than that. _

The door remained shut for the last five hours. Or was it six? I couldn't tell how long it had been since Itachi came in. _Sasuke's brother… they seemed alike, but different in so many ways. Not that I know either of them very much._

I sighed heavily, hoping that the persistent hunger pangs would pass. They stung, but they couldn't even come close to comparing to the pain of knowing that I would be causing Naruto great pain._ It does not matter if I live or die. If I live, then Naruto would die and I will surely be lost in a state of depression. If I die then it would be Naruto in depression. That is, if he does love me. _

At some point, I fell asleep, because I found myself in a large ballroom. "This is…" I stared at the room that I had been in 5 nights before. It was the night that I met Naruto.

I happened to look down and notice I was wearing the same dress. My hair was the same style.

"Oh. That's nice. Just throw me into an empty room that reminds me of Naruto and hope that I'll feel better? Worst dream ever." I was a bit angry, so I couldn't help the little sarcastic remarks.

I sat on the floor and waited for something to happen. Anything, really.

* * *

Sai walked out of the room after almost being mauled for information. He was done his job. Though he still couldn't believe he sold out his friend.

_Hey. You did it for her. You know you did._ Sai frowned at the voice. It came out of nowhere on the oddest times. _Aw, you know you love me._ And there it was again. It was this voice that convinced him to take the job. Sai just didn't know he was being manipulated.

He walked out of the townhouse, and down the street. He only stopped when he was pulled into a side alleyway. Sai glanced at his captor and let out a sigh when he saw the face of Itachi Uchiha. He wasn't sure himself, whether the sigh was of relief or of sadness.

"Itachi. The job has been done. I gave Naruto the details on where to meet you." Sai reported.

"Good. You may leave." Itachi said and turned to walk away.

"Wait! What about…"

"She is waiting for you at your home."

Sai's smile was small. He would have a lot of explaining to do. She wasn't going to be happy.

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter. I'll write a really long Chapter Seven, okay? 3,000 words, I promise. More or less. And no. I will not reveal whom Sai is betraying Naruto for. Wait for Chapter Seven. You will see.**


	7. Writer's Block

I am truly, completely, and utterly sorry. I feel like I have disapointed WAY too many people with my non-updating skills. IT JUST THE DAMN WRITER'S BLOCK! It's consumed me deeply on this story. Somehow, I am still able to write some material for my new story (will be posted AFTER A Thief Among Roses.) Don't worry. I will wirte Chaper Seven. At some point. But for now, consider this story in Hiastus Mode. Again, truely, deeply, utterly sorry! I love you all! 


	8. Bait

**Guys. I can't even begin to believe how many people will even remember this story, let alone read this chapter. Not a lot, I'm guessing. Though, I could be wrong. Anyways. I am still alive, and well, writing, it's just that I've been working on my original book trilogy and I totally forgot about until about two days ago. Then My fanfic came to mind and... well here we are. With a new chapter. And now, without any further waiting (unless you skipped this T_T) Here is Chapter Seven:**

* * *

I could barely stand on my own anymore. The pain was too great. My head reeled and my vision blurred so that I couldn't see straight, either.

Last I knew, I was sitting in the dungeon, dreaming of an elegant ballroom. Now I was being dragged through a very long and dark—or maybe that was just my interpretation, since I was semi-blind—hallway. I didn't want to move. My legs now refused movement, so one of the people that were accompanying me picked me up, bridal style, and continued down the hall. I tried to fight back, really, I tried. The pain in my head was just too dreadful.

The hallway was dark, and made of stone, like the cold dungeon I had been sitting in. I looked down, avoiding eye contact with the men.

"Is she alright? How hard did you hit her?" Someone's voice echoed several times in my mind.

"She is fine." Said another voice that bounced off the walls in my mind. They sounded so loud...

I closed my eyes and attempted another method. _'Maybe if I just play dead...'_ I let myself go limp then.

"Um... She just... Stopped moving."

"Oh god. Is she dead? Did you _kill_ her? Itachi is going to skin us alive!"

"I know, I know! We can say that she committed suicide in the cell..."

"Yes. Maybe Itachi can still use her to lure the demon."

'_Demon? What... Why are they... are they calling Naruto a demon?'_ I wondered. I waited, and found myself drifting back into the dark dreaming world once more.

* * *

Sai knew that what he had done was bad. He'd betrayed a very close friend, and that betrayal would lead to either his death. Or his sister's death. Or the both of them would die. For this was how the cruel world worked. Unless you made a deal with the devil.

That had been Sai's solution. They had had her for too long, he had decided one night. There once had been nothing Sai could do about it. But now... now she was waiting for him. Once again he would feel her soft embrace and her tears would soak into his clothes. Sai had missed his little sister.

He missed her so much that he couldn't take it anymore. He knew what those bastards were probably doing to her. She'd have bruises for sure. On her face, her arms, her legs.

Sai now hurried through the streets, just longing to get home. Just longing to see Kari. The rain felt cold on his skin, and he'd only just noticed it now. He pulled his cloak around himself more tightly. The house was only just up ahead and—

"Sai, we know that you lied." A voice from the shadows. Sasuke.

"It is a trap, isn't it?" Another one... Sakura.

"Sai, we _trusted_ you." Hinata's pained voice, laced with hurt.

"We are your friends..." Naruto finally said.

His black eyes opened with a start. He sat up quickly in his bed and put his face in his hands. "It... It is a trap. My friends... They trusted me. I have to tell them." He quickly got dressed and flew down the stairs. He'd stayed at Naruto and Gaara's home that night. Kari would be at his home at noon. That's also when Sai had told Naruto to meet at the warehouse with Itachi. Sai told Naruto that they were going to kill her if he didn't go at noon to negotiate terms.

It was a trap. As soon as Naruto walked into the room, he would see Hinata on the ground in the middle of the room and run to her. He would then get shot with poison darts that would only keep him alive for long enough for Itachi to order his witch to drag out the power within him. Then, the blonde would die. They would surely kill Hinata after, if she wasn't dead already.

Sai burst into the dining room, only to see Gaara sipping away at his morning coffee. "Where is Naruto?" he asked breathlessly.

"Naruto went to Sasuke's house to ask him to come with him to go negotiate with the Akatsuki Organization." Gaara said calmly and looked back down to his book.

Sai cursed and ran out the door, rushing down the dimly lit cobblestone street. Why was he even trying? Were the lives of his friends more important than the life of his only living relative? The Akatsuki could be lying to him... That was always a possibility. Sai felt like their little puppet. As long as they had Kari, Sai would be their puppet.

* * *

Naruto looked at Sasuke. "Why would it be a trap? Sai said that they sent a messenger to the house and that he took the message, since he was outside anyways."

"Naruto, you idiot. Sai _is_ the messenger." Sasuke said with irritation. "They probably have something over him, like blackmail." He didn't look at Naruto, but stared ahead with unblinking black eyes. He frowned, thinking of what it could be.

"I trust Sai. I do not believe he would betray me." Naruto protested. The blonde crossed his arms. "Besides, I am not that stupid, Sasuke. I can tell if something is a—"

That was when Sai burst into the room "It is a trap!"

Sasuke looked over and smirked in triumph.

"What?" Naruto exclaimed, standing up and accidentally knocking the chair over in the process.

"They had my sister. I needed to do it. They are going to kill you." Sai said between breaths. He had obviously been running nonstop. Sweat dotted his forehead and his clothes were askew.

"Well, well, well. So much for friendship." Sasuke said and walked out of the room, slowly shaking his head.

"Shut up, bastard!" Naruto called after him. He glared at the back of the Uchiha's head, as if he was trying to burn a hole in it.

Sasuke responded with, "Idiot!"

Sai sat down and sighed lightly. "I am sorry."

Sasuke still seemed to be listening and shouted "You would not have done it if you thought it through!"

Naruto shot another look out the doorway, sending off angry vibes. He rolled his bright blue eyes and looked back at Sai. "Hey, it's ok, you we're trying to protect your precious people. I get that. Now, will you help me protect mine?"

Sai nodded, "I will tell you everything." And he did. By the end of his short explanation, Naruto looked grim.

"So, they do not just want the money any more. The hell if they ever did. It's all about this stupid curse. Damn it...and I dragged Hinata into this." He was angry at himself, and red pigments showed slightly in his eyes. He was mostly able to control his rage, but there were times where the rage was just too strong.

* * *

I looked up at the ballroom's ceiling, unhappy that I'd ended up back in the lonely place. It was dimly lit, almost completely dark, and I could only make out the vague shapes of the figures that were painted on the ceiling. The chandelier lay shattered in the middle of the dance floor and the curtains were dusty and ripped; the world outside the windows dark. The floor itself was also dirty and worn. The ballroom was a dark shade of what it had once been. The shadow of a beautiful sight.

My dress was almost the same, though it was ruined to match the rest of the room and my hair was also messy, strands falling out of place. I hated that, but it didn't bother me at the moment. I stared at the ceiling and wished for the dream... no, _nightmare_ to end. The silence was torturing me again, and I found that my voice wasn't working at all. Which meant the silence would only continue. I sighed and shifted my gaze to the floor sat I sat on. I couldn't tell how long it went on like that. Maybe an hour or two had passed.

I only noticed that time had passed when I looked up at the windows and noticed that the outside world was darker. I heard a small noise, and looked towards the source in surprise and hope. My hope soon turned to cold dread that seeped into my bones. Across the room, leaning against the wall for support, was a familiar blonde. His hair was soaked in blood and his head hung low. His suit was also stained scarlet, and he was holding his side as if in pain.

I couldn't move. I could only stare as he tried to make his way across the room. His steps were heavy and unbalanced, and he stumbled every few moments. The sound of his footsteps echoed through the near empty ballroom. I wanted to run to him, hold him tightly in my arms. But I could only watch.

"H-Hina...ta..." He whispered weakly. I closed my eyes in pain. This was only a nightmare. It was only a figment of my fear and imagination. This was only a—

There was a sickening thump as his body hit the floor in front of me. I jumped slightly and opened my pearly lavender eyes to see him almost three feet away. He was collapsed in a crumpled heap, and wasn't moving. I couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. I began to tear up, but closed my eyes tightly and sternly repeated over and over in my mind that this was only a nightmare.

When a hand grasped mine, I didn't even open my eyes. I told myself not to open my eyes no matter what. The horrifying image of a dying Naruto was not what she needed to stay strong.

"...Hinata... please... open your eyes," His whispered voice was almost identical to the real Naruto. I wouldn't believe it was him and kept my eyes shut tightly. "I will not blame you if you hate me. I took you away from your family; your sister and father; your cousin. I took it all away."

I tuned him out. All of this could not be real. I would wake up soon and hopefully be rescued soon after. I sighed. Always the damsel in distress.

* * *

The room was dark and large. It was a warehouse, after all. The ceiling was high above and the room stretched to almost a kilometer in width and length. It was a huge room. The blonde waited impatiently. He watched with intensity, turning his head at even the slightest movement. When a voice finally sounded in the darkness, Naruto was ready for it.

"So," The man began, his voice bouncing around the room, collecting an aura of mystery. "I see you have come. Not that I am surprised, of course."

A small pillar of light extended from a single light bulb high above, and it acted almost like a spotlight, landing on the man that was talking. Someone let out a snort of disgust and rage from behind the blonde. It had been Sasuke, at the sight of seeing the man he truly despised, Itachi Uchiha. His brother.

Naruto dared not to take his eyes off of the older Uchiha. "Where is she?" He spat with fierce coldness.

Itachi smiled in satisfaction. "I see she means something to you, other than being a plaything. That is even better."

The blonde growled in anger. "Answer the question." He took a step forwards, keeping his gaze on the red eyed man. His own eyes were becoming filled with a red pigment, as the minutes passed.

He did not speak, but instead, the light went out. It suddenly re-appeared not four feet away from its original position, this time on a limp body of a young girl with indigo coloured hair and pale skin.

Naruto glared, knowing that moving towards her would equal his death. He had to force himself to the spot.

"Not going to run to her?" Itachi taunted. "Smart boy, though it will cost her."

Before Naruto replied, a random man appeared at Hinata's side and lifted her up by her long hair. She was startled awake and winced in pain. She blinked a couple times, probably readjusting her lavender eyes to the lighting. The blonde reacted with a furious glare and a low growl.

"Now, now. Don't want to go awaking your curse so soon, now do we?" The older Uchiha continued with his mocking tone and it only angered Naruto more. He took a step and the man holding Hinata suddenly raised a sharp knife to her throat. Her eyes went wide in panic.

Naruto couldn't think. He couldn't move. He stood, rooted to one place, unable to even process a single plan. We felt utterly useless. He started to speak, hoping words would form. "What do you want in return for her safety?" The blonde said, and was greatly surprised that he spoke well for someone who had not thought about his words beforehand.

"I think you know what I want. Power, Mr. Uzumaki." Itachi's voice radiated from the darkness that he was enclosed in.

Naruto continued his glare, aiming it at the man holding Hinata. He would surely die if they extracted the curse from his body. Would it really be ok to just die and leave Hinata to mourn? That was, if she didn't already hate him. The blonde opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by another voice that was not his own.

"P-Please, just kill me, and d-do not harm him." Hinata stuttered quietly. He hadn't noticed them before, but silver tears rolled down her cheeks. This angered the boy greatly.

"Hinata, don't be a hero." Sasuke spat. He still seemed very irritated by his brother's presence. Naruto narrowed his eyes his dark haired friend, before returning his gaze to the Hyuuga girl, whom was still crying softly. The man who held her whispered something inaudible to her, and she stiffened, stifling her sobs immediately.

Naruto then noticed something distinctive about the man. He had one of his eyes covered with his black hair and most of the bottom half of his face was covered by a mask. The blonde only knew of one man who covered most of his face like that. Even though the man had dark hair, Naruto was certain it was Kakashi. He tried not to smile. Instead he increased his frown, realizing that his teacher was hurting Hinata.

"Come on. I do not have all eternity, Uzumaki. Make a choice." Itachi said suddenly, though Naruto could tell he was just curious to see what would happen.

"Well, I do not have much of a choice, do I?" Naruto muttered. He assumed Hinata was safe for the moment, and forced himself to say; "I will not give myself up willingly."

The look on Hinata's face was one of relief, courage, desperation and fear, all mixed together. She closed her eyes, waiting for death to claim her. Naruto admired her bravery and then shook his head to get it off of his mind. He had to focus on making a plan. The boy stepped back and stood beside Sasuke, whispering something to the other boy. He nodded and disappeared. Naruto stepped closer.

"Oh? Well, I am to assume that you do not care for the young Hyuuga's life, then." He spoke clearly. "Kill her."

Kakashi nodded and dragged the girl off to the side, into the darkness. There was a loud, blood curdling scream. Naruto balled his fists, knowing that she was probably not harmed. Then there was the muffled yell of a man. The boy widened his eyes. _No._ He thought rapidly. _Was there another servant, waiting for a signal? Are they both dead, because of my foolishness?_ He felt terror strike his heart and the room grew cold.

"Your move, Uzumaki."

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER. I'm sorry x.x Hope you liked this chapter!**


	9. Broken

**Hiya guys! Here's chapter 8, sorry for the l wait, but hey. Two chapters in a month. I think that's a record, haha. I do not own Naruto! By the way, I have over 600 hits and over 200 visitors this month (Before I posted this), so thank you so much! To me, this is a great accomplishment.**

"Kill her."

I closed my eyes tightly, and then felt myself being dragged off to the side. I wasn't worried, though, because I knew that the man who dragged me was one of Naruto's friends. His teacher, nonetheless. I waited until the light no longer fell onto us, and then I let out a loud scream. It rang through the empty warehouse.

I stood and turned to face Kakashi and widened my eyes as a hand was around his mouth, muffling his scream. A sword was run through his stomach. I was about to let out a real scream, but then my mouth was occupied by a cloth that was tied around my mouth and knotted behind my head. _Not this again. I cannot go back to that dungeon..._ My thoughts were shattered when an explosion of pain radiated from my stomach.

I glanced down and saw scarlet staining my nightdress. I blinked, not quite realizing what it meant. The next moment, I was on the floor on my hands and knees, trying to breathe. I couldn't tell what was going on. I heard the two thugs walk away and looked up to see if Kakashi was still breathing. He was leaning against the wall, clutching his stomach in pain. I was happy to see that he was at least still alive.

It wasn't until a couple minutes past when I realized that the sword was still in me. I wondered if taking it out would be more or less painful. I decided to leave it there. I fell to my side and stayed on the floor, determined not to fall asleep. I feared I would never wake up.

* * *

Naruto didn't move. The blonde didn't even blink. His thoughts were a rapid blur and he felt dizzy. He wanted to rush over and find Hinata make sure she was alive. He wanted to murder the Uchiha. He wanted to... release the rage inside of him. Then he quickly shook his head. He owed to never use that power again. Too many people were killed last time it had happened. That was only when he was a child. He had killed his own parents accidentally.

He closed his eyes tightly.

"Well, Uzumaki, are you stuck? Are you ready to give in?" Itachi asked; the satisfaction in his voice was sick.

There was a weak voice coming from the shadows, but it was broken and impossible to understand. It sounded feminine and the blonde hoped it was Hinata trying to communicate. He hoped that she was still alive.

It was true, he was stuck. The blonde had no idea what to do next. Where was Sasuke?

* * *

Sasuke crept in the shadows until he found himself behind his brother. One swift hit to the back of his head could knock him out, and then everyone would be safe. He walked closer and raised his arm to hit the older Uchiha .

"Are you going to kill me, or simply make sure I am unconscious? I advise the first option, or else all of this will just start all over. I have other bait, you know." Itachi said calmly, not even glancing backwards.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. _Sakura. He better not have Sakura._ He quickly dropped his arm and swept his leg at Itachi instead, aiming for his legs. The Uchiha dodged and turned to face his younger brother. "Nice try." He said and then stabbed the black haired boy in the shoulder with a hidden knife.

"I will not kill you. Yet." He said and then directed his attention back to the blonde.

Sasuke's rage only worsened and he swung his fist at Itachi. He stopped halfway through and collapsed to the ground in pain. The gash in his shoulder burned like fire and he clenched his teeth to keep himself from screaming. _Poison?_

* * *

Naruto felt the power surging through him. The rage was beginning, and once it begun, there was nothing that could stop it. He tried to fight it, but it quickly overtook him. Claws ripped through his nails, his teeth sharpened and an aura of red surrounded him.

"That's it, get angry." Someone said from the left side.

The blonde suddenly took off in that direction and attacked the first person he saw. It was one of the henchmen. One that probably hurt Hinata. Naruto roared loudly and swung his arm at the man, ripping his shirt and causing dark red gashes to form on his chest. The demonic blonde then took off in the direction of Itachi. He would rip the Uchiha's throat out for harming Hinata. However, the man was nowhere to be seen.

This worsened Naruto's rage and he sent out bright red spikes of the aura everywhere. He heard sounds of pain and smirked. Roaring once more he searched the warehouse for anyone living. His recognition of friends and enemies was gone. He would target anything that moved. The demon heard a moan and was there in an instant.

"Naruto? What are you... Oh damn it. Naruto! It's Kakashi! Take control, Naruto!" The silver haired man yelled.

The demon just hit the man and he flew across the building. He moved on, destroying pillars and crates as he went. The red aura grew even larger. The ceiling started to fall. And Naruto could only watch helplessly as the demon destroyed anything and everything in its path.

Then he saw Hinata. The demon went at her as soon as a small sound had escaped her mouth. Naruto screamed at the demon to leave her alone. To move on. The demon ignored and lifted it's arm. The blonde stopped the demon's movement, though he knew it wouldn't last long.

"N-Naruto-kun...?" Hinata's voice was filled with pain and she looked up at him. "What happened to you? W-Why are you like this...?" She asked, generally confused.

The demon just roared and its arm came down on her.

* * *

I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the impact that would definitely kill me. _This must be the demon. The demon inside of Naruto._ I thought. And then I realized that it would probably be my last thought. But I wanted to control my last words. "N-Naruto-kun... I love you." I struggled to say just before the monstrous clawed hand was about to tear open my flesh. I waited. And waited. Then waited more.

Opening my eyes in confusion, I saw the demon's hand just inches from my face. It had stopped. I smiled in relief. My words had reached him... I was going to be ok. _Thank go—_I started to think, but then a terrible explosion of pain erupted from my side. Then I flew across the room and hit the opposite wall.

My body hurt all over and I couldn't move. There was blood. There was blood everywhere. The demon had won after all, using its other hand while Naruto had been concentrated on the one about to rip my face open. I let my eyes close. This was it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I opened my lavender eyes slowly to see Naruto, back to his normal handsome self, running towards me. He fell to his knees and pulled my limp body into his arms. He hugged me tightly and I winced. He made the pain twice as bad by hugging me, but I hardly cared anymore.

"H-Hinata..." He said, his voice trembling. "I'm so, so, so sorry." He was crying now, and all I could do was look at him. My vision was blurring.

"I love you too." Was the last thing I heard before slipping into the icy darkness.

* * *

Sasuke got up just as the ceiling was about to collapse. He saw a familiar silver haired man not far from him and quickly ran over, ignoring his wound. All he saw was blood when he looked at Kakashi. He quietly picked up his teacher and helped him out of the warehouse before it fell. The warehouse seemed to implode and all Sasuke could do was watch.

His best friend, his brother and Hinata were probably still in there. Now... they could be dead. Sasuke clenched his teeth and set Kakashi on the ground. He quickly ran over to the ruins, looking for Naruto. He didn't care about his traitorous brother at the moment. He just had to find his best friend.

After an hour of searching, the black haired boy found nothing. He stopped the rest, and looked at Kakashi, determining if the man was still alive or not. He saw his chest rise and fall, and was relieved.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke looked up and saw his idiot of a best friend walking away from the rubble, with a very dead looking Hinata in his arms. The boy couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. Hinata was probably the only girl that Naruto would ever love. After this, Sasuke figured the blonde would go emotionless. It was the common thing to do. Either that or he would act the same as usual, but be miserable on the inside.

* * *

**So... How many of you guys hate me yet? Yeah. I hate me too. Stay tuned! (Wow that felt very cheesy to say... erm... write.)**


	10. Everything Has A Price

**Hi guys... It's almost over. Just a chapter or two and I'm ending this story. After this one, I'll try to work on another NaruHina, but I also have a Hunger Games FanFiction in mind, so we'll see? Anyways. Here's Chapter 9! (I am very sorry for all the short POVs, in advance.)**

* * *

The Uchiha didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do next. He sighed deeply, and sank into a chair. That warehouse incident had cost a lot. Too much. He couldn't afford another mistake. Itachi Uchiha would need to capture the demon's host tonight. If not, then they would surely... They would... Itachi shook his head. It was worse than dying. And he could not deal with that, because he knew that they would not kill him afterwards. He would suffer for the rest of his life.

* * *

Naruto hadn't taken his eyes off of the girl since they had returned to the house. He didn't dare blink, for he could miss any movement. Any sign of her life still being intact. The blonde hated himself for letting this happen. He was an idiot to think that the Akatsuki would just leave his loved ones alone. A true and complete idiot.

"Naruto...?" A soft voice echoed the room and the blonde didn't respond. He didn't move.

"It's Sakura," She said, as if he didn't already know. "I think I might be able to tell if Hinata is alright or not."

At that, the Uzumaki whipped his head around to stare at the pinkette. He said nothing as she crouched down in front of the Hyuuga, and began using several different medical tools to examine her. Sakura's face was emotionless as she worked, and that only made Naruto more worried.

After what seemed like an eternity, Sakura paused and looked up and found herself staring into Naruto's blue eyes. "She's..."

* * *

I couldn't move. I felt completely paralyzed as the events of my life reeled past my eyes. I began to panic. _No. I can't die yet... I still need to do so much more in my life.. _As the memories whirled past all I did was cry and wish for them to stop. I didn't want to leave yet. "No." I managed to say. The memories slowed slightly, so I mustered up more energy. "No!" They slowed to half. I was exhausted, but I took a deep breath and screamed, "_NO!_"

The memories stopped. Then they re-winded at lightspeed and all there was left was darkness. I sighed in relief and closed my eyes. I needed my energy to keep fighting. To keep holding on.

* * *

Sasuke could not wait to find Itachi and rip his heart out. He may be an inconsiderate jerk most of the time, but he still cared about his friends. Not to mention Itachi had killed their parents. That was also a big thorn in his side. The Uchiha clenched his fists and punched a wall. He swore he would kill his brother, no matter what.

The raven haired boy walked into the room where Naruto and Sakura were with the possibly dead Hinata. Sasuke was very relieved to know that Itachi had, in fact, not kidnapped Sakura. He wouldn't be able to deal with that.

Sasuke cried out in pain when he accidentally hit his hurt shoulder. Sakura had already treated it, but it was still a pain in the ass. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Is she okay?" He asked the pinkette. He got only the slight shake of the head from his girlfriend and then he glanced over at Naruto. Sasuke knew that this was all of his fault somehow. Yes. It was because he had supported the idea to rob the Hyuuga estate. Why couldn't he have just agreed with the idiot for once?

Speaking of the blonde, he was just staring at Hinata, holding her hand tightly. He looked like a wreck.

* * *

"Itachi, it is time for you to act. Or we will take action." The leader of the Akatsuki said calmly. "I know how much you do not want that to happen."

The Uchiha nodded. He had an excellent plan that was not likely to fail. "You will have the demon tonight." Itachi said and left the room. It was time to pay the blonde a visit, and offer him a deal with the devil. This was a deal that he would not be able to resist.

Maybe the warehouse accident had not been an accident at all.

* * *

It was dark when there was a knock on the door. Naruto knew that everyone else had gone home, and Gaara was visiting his siblings, so he would have to answer the door. He got up and slowly walked to the door. He opened it, expecting Sasuke or Gaara or anyone other than who he saw at the door.

The visitor looked at him with cold eyes. "Where is she?" He asked.

Naruto recognized the man as Neji Hyuuga, Hinata's cousin. The Uzumaki looked at the ground. "She's here."

Neji pushed the blonde aside easily and walked into the house, somehow going to the correct room. "What's wrong with her?"

Naruto sighed. "She's... She's in a coma." He said quietly.

"A coma? What the hell did you do?" Neji asked, suddenly angry.

"Well.. a building may have exploded while we were inside."

Neji ignored him after that and ran to his cousin. He began to pick her up, but Naruto snarled. "She stays here."

"Haven't you done enough?" The Hyuuga retorted coldly.

"Just leave my house. I have this taken care of." Naruto said forcedly. A tiny bit of red started to make its way into his ocean blue eyes.

Neji put Hinata down. "I'll be back for her tomorrow, Uzumaki."

Naruto didn't respond and the man walked out of the house. In less than 2 minutes there was another knock at the door. He growled to himself and flung open the door, expecting to see Neji again.

Instead, he was greeted by an older version of Sasuke.

"Itachi." Naruto said icily and glared at the man.

All that the Uchiha said was, "I can cure her, for a price."

The blonde cocked his head to the side. "A price?"

"Of course. Everything has a price."

* * *

**Don't... hate me... please...**


	11. My Heart's One Last Desire

**How many months has it been? Four? That is wayyyy too long. I am ashamed. Very ashamed. This will be the last chapter in ATAR. I noticed while I was writing this that... My story is so confusing and doesn't make sense at all with some points. And I've lost the aspect of what I even wanted to do with it. It makes me want to re-write it, but alas! I have way too many ideas for other NaruHina stories. Which will be much better. In all ways.**

**On another note. You may notice a change in the writing. As in it's better detailed. Because I'm better now. Yay! I haven't decided on a happy or sad ending. I guess you'll have to stay tuned, huh? Oh yeah, I do NOT own Naruto! Obviously.**

* * *

I was in a field. A large field filled with more flowers than I could ever imagine. There were so many different wild flowers growing with the help of the sunlight and the rain. I often wondered what it would be like to be a flower. Surely they had no troubles. Well, until they froze to death or died of thirst or over-exposure to the sun. I sighed, sitting down amongst the pretty flowers. I hadn't given much thought to how I had gotten to the brilliantly coloured field. The last thing I remembered was... red. Red eyes in particular. I couldn't erase them from my mind. They were permanently etched into my thoughts.

I gently stroked a flower and wind danced around me, playing with my long indigo locks. Laughing, I gathered my hair and tied it in a gentle knot to keep it together. The world was so serene. I didn't want to leave. The wind whispered words into my ear. They were beautiful. Even though I couldn't really understand what the wind was saying, the way it was saying it was so full of love. I closed my lavender eyes, concentrating.

_Hinata.._

Tightening my eyes, I concentrated harder. Nothing else could be heard. I sighed, feeling defeated. I decided to meditate, feeling it was the only thing I could do at the moment.

* * *

He hadn't wanted to agree to it. At all. In fact, under any other circumstances, he would have laughed in the man's face. But this was for her sake. He couldn't risk losing her.

The more he thought about it, the more he was reminded of the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet. It had been almost the same circumstances, right? They had had a very distinct connection, he had fallen deeply for her and she for him, and then the lovely maiden had fallen into a death-like trance. Now all that was left was for Romeo to kill himself and have Juliet wake to discover his death. Then she, too, would take her own life.

Naruto refused to let that happen. This would not be some cliche love story that ended in horrible death due to lack of communication. No. He would have to sacrifice all that he knew, just to save her. It would be worth it, the blonde was very sure of it. He just needed to make sure to make appropriate precautions.

He finished writing and smiled a bit at the finished product. Then his frown returned. He looked at his pink haired friend. She hadn't slept through the night. Neither had he. She nodded, knowing what he was going to say, then sat down in a chair beside the girl who looked as if though she was sleeping. Or dead. He didn't like to think of it that way. He wouldn't think of it that way.

"Hinata.." He whispered. "I'll get you out of this. I promise."

A few minutes later, the boy set out. He knew where he was going, even if he had vowed never to return to that place. It was a different time now. Naruto had his eyes narrowed, whether it was in anger, determination, or both, no one could tell. People on the streets dodged him. It was probably best that they did.

He made it to the large building in no time, knocking on the door loudly. A familiar man with odd blue skin and shark-like teeth opened the door and smiled at him. The blonde growled in response and pushed his way past.

"Let's get this over with." Naruto said when he found Itachi.

"Say the words." The Uchiha demanded.

"I agree to give up my demonic soul... and my memories." Naruto was reluctant to say the last part. He had spent the entire night writing his life down in a journal, just so he wouldn't forget.

"Ah, but I wonder if that is enough." Itachi said, a tone of wonder implying that he really didn't know. He turned to a man that stayed in the shadows. When he turned back, his face showed no emotion. "One more thing."

The blonde narrowed his eyes. "Isn't it enough?"

The man shook his head. "Our leader requests that you also hand over your... heart."

Naruto blinked in a mixture of surprise and confusion. "My... heart? Don't I, you know, _need_ that to keep living?" He crossed his arms over his chest, perhaps subconsciously protecting the organ.

"You idiotic boy. I mean your metaphorical heart. Your emotions."

His faced paled visually. His emotions? But.. What would become of him? A man with no emotion... It was those men that became killers. Who would he be without emotion? Even Gaara had some emotion. It was for Hinata. However, after this, he wouldn't have the ability to love her, would he?

Naruto decided that she was worth anything. "Fine. I agree to giving up my heart, memories and demonic soul."

* * *

I looked up to see the bright blue sky darken to a deep grey. Black clouds swirled over head. The flowers and grass were reduced to dust blown away by the wind. The ground became hard cement and I stood, confused. I wore a long white gown that reminded me of a wedding gown, though one that a less wealthy woman would wear.

Soon, my world was grey and lifeless. I felt tears threaten to spill over. This land that had once been beautiful.. Reduced to this in less than a minute. I blinked hard, feeling the flowers' pain. I turned around, seeing only grey stretching as far as I could see.

The soft wind came back, whispering softly in my ear once more. I knew what to listen for now.

_She seems to be worse... I don't know what to do. _

I frowned. Worse? And who was 'she'? Was the wind talking about me? Or perhaps, the Earth. Mother Nature?

Sighing, I sat on the cold and hard ground. I wanted to go home now.

After hours of torturous, well, _torture_, Naruto felt... an inch away from death. He only had his heart left to be taken. And he was very confused about this whole thing. He wondered who these people were, and what he had done to deserve this. He felt very empty.

"Okay, Uzumaki. Time to remove your heart." A man with blue skin said.

"That would kill me!" Naruto retorted. His name was Uzumaki? Strange name. Make it was his surname.. That made more sense.

The man, who the blonde now realized had teeth like a shark, rolled his eyes in annoyance. "We're taking your emotions, idiot."

"Oh." Naruto said quietly. He kind of wanted to keep those. Those were important. He shook his head. "No, actually I really want those."

"Too bad, you agreed to this." The man with black hair sighed. He had bags under his eyes, indicating that he didn't sleep. He didn't seem to be enjoying this as much as the shark guy.

Naruto closed his eyes tightly, preparing for terrible pain. It didn't come. "Are you going to do it, or not?" He asked, his voice without emotion. It was then he noticed that he felt nothing. Tired and hungry of course, but he wasn't angry or afraid anymore.

"Can I leave now?" He asked, not really caring.

"Yes. Itachi escort him home." A voice echoed through the room.

* * *

I had to say that I was confused when I noticed the small crack in the ground. In fact, I was just confused in general. I had no memory of where I was... or who I was.. All I saw was grey. It was so.. blank. I felt like the love had been stripped from the land.

I only had one thing on my mind, other than confusing. Naruto. I didn't know what it meant. perhaps it was a name? Yes.. A precious person. I hoped that this Naruto was alright. My heart ached with worry for them.

My attention was brought back to the crack. It was bigger now. That concerned me. I peered at it with my lavender eyes and then shook my head. What I doing, staring at a crack in the ground? I was some strange to be so interested. Even though something inside my heart told me that something was wrong and I needed to get out of there.

But where would I even go? Which way was out? I stood slowly, turning around in a circle. All I saw was grey, for miles and miles. I sighed heavily.

The wind came back with unpleasant news.

_I think it's a lost cause. She's slipped too far into the coma. She may never wake... Naruto will be devastated._

* * *

He didn't go home. He had been brought to a house with "Uzumaki" on the gates, but he didn't stay. He didn't walk through the gates to greet whomever would be waiting for him. He turned and walked away.

Naruto had no idea where he was going, to be honest. He just wanted to go for a walk. While he walked, he passed a café that seemed sort of familiar. Without thinking, he had somehow ended up in the park. He sat on a stone bench and stared up at the night sky. It was clear, with tiny diamonds glittering like they had no other purpose.

"Naruto!"

The blonde looked up and around. There was no one in the park other than himself and the person that had shouted.

"Uzumaki, what are you doing here?" The voice belonged to a dark haired man with equally dark eyes. He looked angry.

"Uh... Looking at the stars? Who are you?" Naruto asked, his voice almost as uncaring as the guy in front of him.

"You're an idiot." The man said, rolling his eyes. He threw a book at the other boy and started running back towards the way had come. "Go home when you're done reading. Make it quick, idiot."

When he was alone once more, the Uzumaki stared down at the book. He opened it, skimming the pages. This was his life? Yes it seemed like it. The last paragraph was more like a message than a story;

_After you read this, you must check on Hinata. She was supposed to be cured by Itachi when he dropped you off at home. If she wasn't... Then all you have to do is tell Sasuke where he is and he'll take care of that. Also, don't leave her side. You don't remember her, but you love her, okay? You love her more than anything in the world. If she doesn't live, I swear to God, you better kill yourself for being such an idiot._

He stared blankly at the page and then closed the book. "Love, huh?" He pondered and then started back towards his house. Naruto didn't feel anything remotely like love. Hell, he didn't feel_ anything_. But if he had felt so strongly for this 'Hinata' girl, then he guessed it was the least he could do to just see if she was okay.

When he entered what was supposedly his home, a girl with pink hair ran up to him and hugged him tightly. He wondered if this was Hinata. He stared at her blankly when she let go.

"Sakura, we need you in here!"

"I know," the pinkette replied. "Naruto's home, though!"

"Bring him in here!"

The girl named Sakura dragged him into a room to the left and his eyes automatically went to the girl with dark hair sleeping on the couch. She was... beautiful. Her skin was pale and looked smooth to the touch. She was wearing a long white dress. The blonde's heart warmed a tiny bit at the sight of her. Then he felt confusion. And even more confusion, since he was feeling an emotion. Confused was an emotion, right? Had it been that girl on the couch that brought his heart back?

He walked up to the couch and then dropped down beside it, peering at the girl. "So.. this is Hinata, then?" He asked.

Everyone in the room left out a sigh of mixed frustration and annoyance.

* * *

I was so afraid. The crack had gotten bigger. Then it started to spread and when it crossed itself, a bit of the ground would fall away to reveal endless darkness. That had started a while ago, and now I was hopping from patch to patch of ground, trying so desperately to stay away from the darkness. There were not a lot of grey patches left.

Suddenly, the one I was standing on fell. My eyes widened and I covered my eyes as my stomach flipped. The familiar feeling you got when you were falling. I outstretched my hands upwards, as if someone would grab me and save me.

_Oh no... Her pulse is slowing! _

I saw the grey sky get clouded by black mist as I fell farther.

_She's entering the stage where you never wake..._

I closed my eyes and the tears that I didn't know were there fell.

_What do you mean, never wake?_

_She'll be gone, Naruto._

I opened my eyes at the mention of Naruto. My precious person. The whispers echoed around the darkness and suddenly, the falling sensation was gone. I was just suspeneded in endless black. To be honest, the grey was looking pretty good right now, compared to black nothingness.

_But... But..._

_It's too late. I tried, Naruto, I did._

I cried. Sobbed hysterically. I couldn't stop. What would become of me now? Was I merely this crazy girl stuck in darkness with voices echoing off of the walls?

_But.. I don't understand. She's..._

I knew this voice. I knew it like it was my own.

"Naruto..." I whispered. I remembered now. He was my sunshine. My everything. My precious person... I repeated his name louder. Then louder. I kept doing that until I was screaming at the top of my lungs. Maybe someone would hear me.

* * *

Itachi felt terrible. The leader wouldn't let him heal the Hyuuga girl. Now Naruto was going to lose someone he cared about more than anyone. He knew how that felt. The man sighed. He was just glad that he had weakened the spell that froze the poor blonde's heart. He hadn't completed it, he had only made it seem like he had. The poor would get his emotions back when he saw that girl. It was the least he could do. Itachi really wasn't the bad guy here. He never had been. He was just a puppet being controlled because he knew that the organization could kill Sasuke within an hour that the order was given. He couldn't let Sasuke die. His only family. It was best that he hated Itachi. It was for the best.

* * *

Naruto had sent everyone out. His emotions had returned, and even though his memories were clouded, he new that he loved Hinata more than anything. He was confused as to why his emotions were working once more, but he didn't dare question it.

He stared at the girl. She was like that princess in the fairy tail where she was crused to sleep for a hundred years. Her prince charming had woken her with a kiss, had he not?

The blonde decided that anything was worth a shot. He lifted himself up and hoered over her for a moment, before kissing her cold lips gently.

And... Nothing happened. Naruto sighed. He was defeated. There wasn't anything that he would do, was there? All he could do was stare at her. He was sorry that he had dragged her into his dangerous life. He was sorry that he had ever met her.

"Na...ru...to..."

It was a faint whisper. If the room hadn't been silent, he would have never heard it. He looked at her quickly, only to see that she was exactly the same as before. He had imagined it, huh? The blonde got up and leaned over to kiss her forehead. He needed something to drink.

* * *

Just like that, there was a burst of bright, yellow light. I widened my eyes. The light. Like, at the end of the tunnel? I figured that heaven would be better than eternal darkness, so I reached out towards the light, feeling the warmth on my cold skin.

My eyes fluttered open, which I found odd, because I hadn't shut them. I looked around. It was a living room. Strange, I didn't think that heaven would be a house. I had imagined clouds. And little baby angels. And big, pearly gates that shimmered.

I sat up and yawned. I felt tired. So tired that I wanted to lie back down and go to sleep. As I was about to, I heard a loud crash. I looked to the source of the noise, startled. A girl with pink hair had dropped a tray of teacups.

"Sakura! Why'd you drop that tray? Are you okay?" A familiar voice echoed through the house. A man with bright, sunny hair and crystalline blue eyes walked in and he dropped the cup he was holding.

"You two are clumsy, huh?" I asked. I felt like I knew them. I locked eyes with the blonde, and then my memories collided into my mind like a train into a car. I jumped up and ran over to Naruto, hugging him tightly.

His arms almost crushed me, but I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to be as close to him as possible.

"Hinata.. How..?" Sakura asked, her green eyes wide.

Naruto just whispered, "I don't care how.. You're here... That's all I need."

I pulled away slightly to look at him, my lavender meeting his ocean blue. I just stared for a while. I had missed him so much in that grey world. He smiled brightly, and it resembled the light I had seen in the darkness. "Your smile is what saved me." She whispered, though he didn't hear it.

"I love you, Hinata."

"I love you too, Naruto."

* * *

Sasuke was filled with rage. Naruto had told him where Itachi was, and he was determined to kill his brother this time. He was going to end it. Take revenge for his family. He ran down the road, rain hitting him. The drops felt like tiny ice shards on his bare face, but he could care less. He wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted. Itachi's warm blood on his hands. He knew it sounded sick, but he could care less.

As soon as he pounded on the door, it opened. A tall man with blonde hair that looked similar to Ino's smiled at him. Then his world went black.

* * *

**I know that I said this was the last chapter. And I meant it. This is the last chapter. Of this story. Yep. Sequel time. Even though I'm so busy. Because I love my readers. And I promise that the sequel will make sense and clear some things up. Just review on what you need cleared up, so I can help you understannnddd. XD**

**Thank you for joining me on this year and a half journey. I apologize for my terrible uploading skills. My memory is actually the worst ever. I love you guys! **


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